Perry Kitchen is the 22-year-old starting center midfielder for D.C. United, one of the top teams in MLS’ Eastern Conference. He has been the starter for the team since he was drafted third-overall in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft, just one year out of helping the University of Akron win its first national championship as a freshman. He has played for the U.S. U-17, U-20 and U-23 National Team and his former coach Caleb Porter calls him the best ball-winning young midfielder in America.

He’s young, he’s talented, he’s a winner, and he’s already being discussed as a potential player for the United States in the 2018 World Cup. And odds are unless you’re a D.C. United season-ticket holder, you’ve never heard of him.

After all, this is soccer in America.

“This kid is going to make it.”

Kitchen grew up on the south side of Indianapolis, the second of three children to Mary and Chris Kitchen.

“My dad played football and rugby,” said Kitchen, “and he thought soccer was a pretty girly sport.”

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But Kitchen’s older brother played soccer, and young Perry wasn’t going to let his brother be better than him at anything, so he took up the game, quickly rising through the ranks of Indianapolis soccer. It was at a camp at Indiana University that Porter, who is currently the coach of the Portland Timbers and coached Kitchen at Akron, first noticed the young kid with the buzz cut.

“He was 13 or 14 years old…and I remember watching this kid play, and thinking: ‘This kid is going to make it in this game,'” said Porter. “He ran the show. His presence and his competitiveness and his ability to dominate the midfield was easy to see at that age. And I remember saying to him ‘I’m going to keep my eye on you, because I think you’re going to be a big-time player in this country.’ I think it took him back a little, but it was obvious.”

Kitchen soon hooked on with the Chicago Magic, a top regional club team, and his parents split the two-and-a-half hour drive up with some other local families who had kids playing for the club. When Kitchen was 15, he was invited to join the IMG Development Academy in Bradenton, Florida, a boarding school that focuses on developing young athletes.

“It was tough. You always think your oldest child will leave home first,” said his mom. “Our middle child left first. It was a different family dynamic after that. Perry always seemed to be the one to make sure everybody got along.”

At Bradenton Kitchen developed into one of the top prospects in the country. He played for youth national teams and then it was time for college, when he decided to join Porter at Akron. In his first year there he, along with teammates and current pros Darlington Nagbe, Scott Caldwell, Darren Mattocks, Chris Korb and several more won Akron its first National Championship.

One year of college was enough. Kitchen decided to join MLS, where he was selected third overall by D.C. United. He would be the team’s defensive midfielder for the future.

AP Photo

Doing dog’s work

Part of the reason you may never have heard about Kitchen is he plays defensive midfield, a role that’s hard to get excited about.

“It’s not a very highly-praised position,” Kitchen admitted, sitting in the depths of the dilapidated RFK stadium, D.C. United’s home. “I just feel like I have the makeup of a d-mid, someone who works hard and can keep everyone organized and in line.”

Kitchen rarely scores goals, though he has netted three this year, which is more than he’d scored his entire career up to this point. His job is to sit deep in the midfield, in front of the four defenders, and win balls played in there by the opposition. He does this by any means necessary. His tackles are ferocious and Kitchen usually covers the most ground of any player on his team. For his efforts, he was named D.C. United’s MVP in 2013.

“In my opinion, that’s the most important position on the field,” said D.C. United captain Bobby Boswell. “For me, he represents this whole winning streak. He’s one of those guys in there doing the dirty work. And that’s really what he does. He does dog’s work.”

He also happens to play a position in which there is a glut of American talent. Kitchen plays the same position as Jermaine Jones, Kyle Beckerman and, if we’re being honest, Michael Bradley, who may have played higher up the field in the World Cup but is a more defensive central midfielder at heart.

Kitchen can match their work rate, but he’s not quite there yet on the ball. He lacks Bradley’s creativity, and while he rarely makes the wrong pass, it’s rare he’ll try to dribble anyone.

He’s also 22-years-old, and that part of his game will only get better.

“I’ve never coached a player that’s more competitive than him, and that’s what sets him apart,” said Porter. “He hates to lose, and it doesn’t matter if it’s training, a game, soccer tennis, whatever it is, and when you have that much competitive fiber and you have that much drive and determination, you’re bound to make it.”

Fuel from failures

Kitchen says he’s played that defensive midfield position since he was 12, with one noticeable exception.

In the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup, Kitchen was the captain of the United States team entering the tournament, but team coach Wilmer Cabrera decided Kitchen would help the team most at right back. Kitchen had never really played there before.

In the first game of the World Cup against Spain, Kitchen struggled playing out of position and was subbed off at halftime by Cabrera (the game ended in a 2-1 loss to Spain.) Kitchen didn’t see the field for the rest of the tournament.

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“I think a big part of his fuel came from failures,” said Porter. “He got dropped off the 17s national team. I mean, after the first game he got pulled out of the lineup. And you know I got him right after that [at Akron], and I remember thinking that this was gonna be a special year for this kid because I knew he was going to be hungrier than ever.”

Kitchen’s dad also hinted that his son’s goal Sunday night against Chivas, a team managed by his old coach Cabrera, was “extra sweet.” But when I asked Kitchen about it, he wouldn’t say an ill word about his experience at the U-17 World Cup.

“He’s a throwback.”

But that’s who he is. Kitchen plays a not-very-sexy position on an not-very-sexy team in an not-very-sexy league. His home life will be terrible tabloid fodder, if/when tabloids ever see fit to cover MLS.

He married his high school sweetheart, Alexa, who is a senior at George Mason studying business (she took some time off to pursue modeling before finishing school). The couple likes to watch Notre Dame and Colts football, and they just got Netflix and plowed through two straight seasons of Orange is the New Black. They attend church on Sunday, and Kitchen takes his faith seriously.

Even Kitchen’s appearance is unassuming. He keeps his hair cut short in a buzz cut, and says he prefers soccer cleats that are all-black. He only started wearing shoes with color in them because those are the ones that Adidas sends him.

“He’s a throwback,” said Porter. “I imagine he doesn’t care too much about Twitter or self-promotion. He’s a kid from Indianapolis. He’s a no-BS type of guy, no ego at all. He just shuts up and does his job.”

The future

While Kitchen is far from a household name, he’s absolutely on the radar of Jurgen Klinsmann and U.S. soccer, and all those around him are quick to bring up that he’s someone who should be looked at for the 2018 World Cup. The reigning American defensive midfielders, Jermaine Jones and Kyle Beckerman, will both be 36 years old at the next World Cup. Kitchen will be 26, just entering his prime.

“He does all the things he’s supposed to do on and off the field,” said Boswell. “He’s always ready to train, he’s always on time, he’s a good guy at a young age, he’s beyond his years when it comes to doing what it takes to succeed in this game, and that’s why we’re talking about him as an All-Star or as a member of the next national team camp.”

His current and former coaches agree.

“I think he’s a guy that will definitely be considered,” said Porter. “He’s working on being just a little bit more sophisticated on his turning out of pressure, his passing, but ultimately his greatest strength is just a dominant ball-winner. I don’t think that there’s a better ball-winning defensive midfielder that’s this young out there.”

If Kitchen can keep developing his skill and comfort with the ball, and improve the passing a little bit, he’s someone that any team would be lucky to have.

“He’s a student of the game,” said Olsen. “If he continues to move in this path, and continue to develop, he’s certainly going to get his shot with the full [national] team, and opportunities overseas at some point.”

I ask Olsen if Kitchen has a ceiling as a player.

“Does Perry Kitchen have a ceiling? Well, we all have a ceiling,” Olsen said, laughing. “But has he reached his ceiling? No. Not yet.”

Perry Kitchen is one of the best defensive midfielders in the country and could be at World Cup 2018. Why hasn’t anyone heard of him?

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